Okay! Agreed,it's not right to vote for tribal or religious bias reasons, but for what reasons shall I vote?
It's quite simple I would say you vote for a leader not for tribe or religion. On how to identify a leader,I would suggest you look out for the following:
Honesty
According to Forbes,honesty is key. If your candidate is always not coming out straight on issues and is always coming up with reasons for failure,then,he is unworthy.
A good leader should be the type you can trust most of the time to deliver the goodies. When he promises,he delivers. So, I ask you,can you swear that the person you hope to vote for would do as he says? If within yourself (be honest),without thinking,you answered a 'yes' to this question,then,cast your vote for him but if you had to think even for a moment to answer this question,then,don't vote for him.
Communication
How often do you get to see him,is he social, how well does he communicate with you prior to today... how often do you see him,is he accessible?
Bros,one of the greatest mistakes we do make as a people in Nigeria is that we vote people who value privacy to socialization. If your leader is not sociable, as in, most often than not,he is out of site,always travelling out,how is he supposed to lead well? A leader must always be available in body and spirit, you should be able to communicate with your leader most of the time... a good leader is always accessible... no barrier or barricades...even without invitation, sometimes, you should be able to see him! Is your leader that accessible,if not,how are supposed to make demands and get answers? I leave you to answer that and you know what to do if he is not.
Confidence
Look,if the person you choose to vote for doesn't have this one...I mean confidence,please wait no more,just change your mind right now!
If your leader lacks confidence,trust me,you would be voting for chaos and anarchy when you cast your vote for him. An acid test of the level of confidence of your leader lies right in the manner in which he talks. If he is like giving an impression like there are people that are greater than he is,people that are above the law,if he is talking like there's some sort of Mafia somewhere...a cabal that can hinder his intended smooth running of his administration,please don't vote for him.HE LACKS ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF LEADERSHIP....CONFIDENCE!
If you insist and still go ahead to vote for him and lawlessness becomes the order of the day and you experience a sharp increase in cases of corruption and crime,please, blame no one but yourself!
Commitment
The other day when I was browsing through Facebook,someone was like....'when Jonathan (PDP,christian and Southerner) didn't cancel or postpone his election campaign in honor of the victims of Nyanyan bomb blast,everyone was blaming him,now Kwankwaso (APC) has done the same and no one is blaming him...'
When I read this,I was like some people don't realize that human beings like them were the ones that loose their lives when terrorists strike!
It's only natural to expect a committed leader to mourn the death of his subjects,even if it's just a soul. Failure to do so sends an 'I don't care ' message to the people.
In Pakistan,during election campaign period,Imran Khan fell off a platform that was prepared for him and broke his neck in the process. Guess what other contestants did? They suspended their campaign in honor of a fellow contestant... that's what I call sportsmanship... a quality our politicians lack.
In South Korea,there was a ship wreck and just for sluggish response to rescue,the people tongue lashed the Prime Minister and he resigned! Now,please,note that it was a ship wreck which could happen anytime and cannot be directly linked to the government,the Prime Minister resigned pointing out that had they responded quicker, some lives could be saved,he resigned because he cares,he is human and committed enough to take responsibility and actually punishes himself by sacrificing a post he sweated and worked hard to hold!
Now,compare that to Jonathan's case whereby,there was mass murder in the country's capital and in less than 48 hours, the president was dancing and singing in a political rally,and you there,trying to fault the condemnation! Haba!
So,when I read the guy's write up on Facebook,I felt sorry for him and all that are dogmatic in the way they follow their favorite politician and party. That is not Democratic in any way,it's a big-time anarchy!
Now,if the person you are about to vote for has no such passionate commitment records as exemplified above the South Korean Prime Minister,he is not good enough,don't vote for him! Whether APC or PDP.
Positivity and Creativity
As a leader,you are expected to lead not to rule. Hence,you must be positive in the way you think. Like they say,'If you really want to do something,you would find a way,but,if you don't,you find an excuse'.
Most of our present crop of leaders (should I say rulers) are always full of excuses,they hardly deliver. This is your chance to make a change...your vote is all you need to effect that change.
Out of a leader's resolve to always keep a positive mind comes the abundance of creativity which goes a long way to inspire positivity in the followers.A typical very close example of positivity and creativity is the case of Tinubu,then the governor of Lagos state and Obasanjo the then President of Nigeria.
Obasanjo ordered all states that created new local governments to reverse their creation. All but Tinubu obeyed. In response to Tinubu's defiance,the Federal Government,refused to remit Lagos states federal allocation. Instead of repenting and begging for forgiveness,Tinubu actually continued running his government despite the short in funding. What did he do,he simply looked inwards and made Lagos take care of her own business via internally generated revenue! That was the first practical example of the fact that EVERY STATE CAN TAKE CARE OF ITSELF WITHOUT THE FEDERAL ALLOCATION!
Now,that's a combination of Positivity, creativity, commitment,bravery and uncommon courage... what a cool combo!!!
See,I can continue on and on but,I would put a stop at this point. We all know a good leader when we see one. I went through all these troubles to tell you the truth...YOUR CHOICE OF ACTION TODAY CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOU. TO MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO OF MONEY POLITICS IS TO EMPOWER THE CORRUPT TO CONTINUE EXPLOITING US WHILE VOTING FOR CHANGE, VOTING A GOOD LEADER DESPITE HIS REFUSAL TO PAY YOU FOR YOUR VOTES, IS THE GREATEST FORM OF REVOLT OF ALL!!!
We are the youth,when their conflict and crisis,it's the youth and when there's a positive change, you find the youth there. It's the youth that are used as thugs during electioneering... the organization and success of politicians' campaign programs all hinges on the youth,yet,it's the youth that suffers the most when corrupt leaders come to power.
I therefore,call on the youth...you guys, stop all the BLIND SUPPORT FOR EITHER JONATHAN, BUHARI OR ATIKU AND FOCUS MAINLY ON THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS...WHO HAS THE BEST RECORDS? PLEASE, DON'T BE LURED AGAIN INTO VOTING BASED ON RELIGION OR ETHNICITY VOTE STRICTLY BASED ON YOUR CONVICTION. WITHIN YOUR HEART,ANSWER THE QUESTION; CAN MY CANDIDATE DO IT??? BE SINCERE WITH YOUR ANSWER AND VOTE ACCORDINGLY...I REST MY CASE FOR NOW!
